6
I rest my body for a moment on this soft sofa, close my eyes briefly and take a deep breath, hoping to ease the weight pressing on my mind and heart right now. Why would Mr. Chandra act that way outside, yet seem so kind whenever he's with me? Before I know it, tears stream down my cheeks. Truly, this is a devastating blow in my life.
But I must not lose hope. I have to stay strong. I won't let something like this leave me frustrated and broken. I am a resilient woman, and I will never back down until I get what I want. I sit up straight again. In the name of God, I will see through what I planned earlier.
I call Linda right away, asking her to contact a cleaning service and clear this room of its disgusting mess. The worker arrives shortly after.
"Please take the trash bin and everything inside it from under that desk, along with this wicker basket. Take them to the back and burn all of it," I say.
"Even the trash bin itself, Ma'am?" the cleaner asks, her face showing what looks like confusion.
"Yes, everything," I say. "Or if you'd like, you can take it all with you."
"Thank you, Ma'am. I'll take it home. It would be wasteful to burn it," she says, smiling.
"Very well, do as you wish. The only thing that matters is I never have to see those items again. You may leave now."
"Right away, Ma'am. Thank you very much." She exits through the door.
With the trash and basket gone, it feels like fresh air is flowing through the room once more. I lean back in my chair and prepare to call Mr. Johan, the financial manager and a long-time trusted confidant of my father's.
"Mr. Johan, please come to the main director's office at once. I'm waiting for you now," I say over the office phone.
While I wait, I open the right-hand desk drawer I didn't get to check earlier, since I found the contraceptives before. I pray there are no more disgusting surprises inside. Thank God, there are none, only small sheets of paper, some writing utensils, and a few 3x4 formal looking photos of women. Why would Mr. Chandra keep these photos?
A tiny purple paper with pretty flower patterns catches my eye. Since when did my husband take an interest in something so fancy and girly? I pick it up, and there's writing, or some kind of code, on it.
040488ME
What kind of code is this?
I tuck the delicate paper into my pants pocket as Mr. Johan knocks on the door.
"Please come in, Sir," I call out.
"Peace be upon you, Mrs. Dita."
"And peace be upon you. Please have a seat, Mr. Johan. How are you?" I ask as he sits across from me.
"Thank God, I'm well, Ma'am," he replies respectfully. "I trust you're doing well too? It's been quite some time since I've seen you here."
"Thank God, I'm fine as well. I was starting a new business at home yesterday, so I haven't had time to come in," I lie. "Could I get all the company's reports from the past year?"
"Of course, Ma'am," he says, sounding somewhat nervous.
"Good. I need them today, before break time. And starting now, all financial transfers will go to this new account number," I say, showing him my latest account details.
"Yes, Ma'am. Right away. I'll get on it with the staff immediately." He stands to leave.
It seems something is being hidden from me. This isn't like Mr. Johan at all—he wouldn't even look me in the eye the entire time he was in here.
"Wait, Mr. Johan. Please sit down again. There's one more thing I'd like to discuss."
He sits back down quickly. "Is there anything else I can help with, Ma'am?"
"Please answer me honestly. Why did you seem so frightened when I asked for those reports?"
"I'm afraid Mr. Chandra will be angry, Ma'am. Any employee who disobeys his orders, whether right or wrong, is fired without severance pay. And Mr. Chandra has warned me not to tell anyone about the company's finances, especially not you, Mrs. Dita."
"Why would he want to keep this from me? Is it because there's a lot of fraud involved?" I ask.
"To be honest, in the year Mr. Chandra has been here, there have been countless cases of fraud and corruption. If this continues, I believe we'll be bankrupt soon, Ma'am. I've warned him many times, but he never listens."
My husband is truly beyond hope or maybe he needs to be cleansed of his ways. God forbid. For now, I trust Mr. Johan's words more than Mr. Chandra's.
"You know who the true owner of this company is, don't you? From now on, I will be handling all matters here personally. Carry out my orders immediately. If any staff member refuses to comply, have them come see me at once."
"Of course, Ma'am. I'll take care of it now. In my opinion, you're far more capable of managing this company than Mr. Chandra. If you'll excuse me."
"Very well. I'll be waiting. Oh, and don't forget the board meeting in ten minutes. I'll head over there shortly."
"Right, Ma'am." He leaves the room.
I knew it. Chandra has been squandering all the company's money to satisfy his monstrous desires. You've gone too far, Chandra!
Linda and I head to the conference room right away. The twelve staff members I requested are already waiting there. I begin the meeting without delay.
"Peace be upon you. Good morning, everyone. I apologize for calling this sudden meeting today. To be brief, starting now, as the sole owner of this company, I require all daily reports to be sent directly to me. Any decision affecting the company must have my approval. Even if I'm not in the office every day, reports must still be sent to my email without exception. That's all I have to say. If anyone has questions, please speak up."
Mr. Fahri, the operations manager, raises his hand. "Excuse me, Ma'am. What about Mr. Chandra? Should we report to him first? And will he no longer be working here? We're all quite afraid of him."
"Let me be clear. I am the sole owner of this company, and my instructions must be followed without question. Mr. Chandra will continue coming to the office as usual, but all decisions must go through me first. I want all departments to submit their past year's reports to my desk before lunch. I believe everything is clear now. This meeting is adjourned."
I leave the conference room with Linda. I see no need for long explanations, I think they understand what I've said.
"Lin, from now on you're my right-hand woman. If I'm not here, you must report any irregularities to me, including anything involving Mr. Chandra," I say as we walk side by side.
"Right away, Ma'am. I promise you won't be disappointed in my work," she replies firmly.
Mr. Chandra, from now on, let's see who has what it takes. Let's find out who can truly handle all of this.